India: CCBI Kicks off National Synodal Consultation

India: The National Synod of the Latin Church in India commenced with the Holy Eucharist at Paalanaa Bhavana, the Pastoral Centre of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, on Tuesday, 26th July 2022.

At the National Synod, a team consisting of 15 bishops, 12 priests, 10 religious and 27 lay leaders will validate and finalize the Synthesis prepared by the National Synod Desk in collaboration with the CCBI Commission for Theology and Doctrine. It will then be sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod in Rome.

Cardinal-Designate Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of East Indies, was the main celebrant while Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal-Designate Archbishop Anthony Poola, of Hyderabad and several Archbishops, priests, religious and laity were also present.

Archbishop Ferrão began said in his homily: “My dear friends, today’s gospel speaks to us of the dream of Jesus for his disciples, for us… This dream of Jesus for his disciples has got two facets: Communion and Mission. In order to journey with the Church in her mission, we need to foster communion within and without.”

This National Synthesis will thus effectively serve as a road map for the Church in India in the next decade. It is hoped that this National Synod will be an occasion for the Latin Church in India to discern new ecclesial pathways and adopt creative pastoral approaches that will help her to be a genuinely authentic Synodal Church.

This will result in promoting greater ecclesial Communion, Participation and Mission: the 3 aspects of the Synod 2021-2023. It’s the dream of the Holy Father Pope Francis to promote a Synodal Church in every aspect in order to make her more relevant to our times.

              - Inputs from CCBI Press Release